Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

Someone forgot to tell the Baylor Bears that they were not invited to the 2009 NCAA Tournament bubble discussion, and the Bears apparently want to make sure everyone notices them. After a 17-13 season with a disappointing 5-11 record in Big 12 play, Baylor earned the #9 seed in the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. The Bears claimed 6 wins over teams in the RPI Top 100 during this time with 3 over RPI Top 50 teams. But the Bears are no longer hibernating as they have put together a string of 3 wins in 3 days defeating Nebraska (RPI #74), Kansas (RPI #9) and Texas (RPI #38) en route to a berth in the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game.

So do these wins put Baylor (RPI #55) on the bubble? If you add wins over RPI #30 Arizona State, #18 Oklahoma State and #36 Texas A&M you have an imporessive resume. But the 13 losses this season may continue to haunt Baylor despite a Strenght of Schedule that ranks #15 in the nation according to Jerry Palm at CollegeRPI.com. Whatever the end result, Baylor is making it even more difficult for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

For what it is worth, I would personally rather have Baylor in the Big Dance over Penn State (RPI 67, SOS 96), Wisconsin (RPI 43, SOS 14, 3 losses in last 5 games), Florida (RPI 46, SOS 89) or Virginia Tech (RPI 61, SOS 18, 7 losses in last 9 games).

BAYLOR BASKETBALL UPDATE: Bears fall to Purdue in NCAA Tourney, garner highly successful season with Drew at the helm

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – Now that the bracket’s been notched down to the Sweet 16, it’s time to take a look back at the season that was for the Baylor Bears basketball team.

The green and gold men’s hoops team, under the direction and leadership of the one and only Scott Drew, had a highly successful season – compiling a 21-11 overall record while establishing the team as one of the up-and-coming programs in a very elite conference with a 9-7 mark in Big 12 play.

Despite a disappointing first round Big 12 Tourney loss to Colorado in double overtime, the Bears still made the Big Dance – with BU bursting their bubble status when the final pairings were announced on Selection Sunday.

“How sweet man,” Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells said following the news the team had made the NCAA Tourney. “I was a little nervous. It was faith. First off, we just want to thank God for giving us the opportunity for being a part of the NCAA Tournament.

“This is something that we set out to do all season. We felt like we worked hard enough to do it, and it just came down to that last spot. We just had to have faith, so we just want to thank God.”

Coach Drew concurred with his junior star guard.

“I think I lost my voice in all of the screaming and the excitement, so I apologize for that,” Drew said. “I also want to echo CJ’s [Curtis Jerrells] thoughts about thanking the Lord for helping us get to this situation. Being the 65^th pick is indicative of the Baylor Bears; we persist and we hang in there. When it looks like we are down and out, we are able to come through. This is very exciting for us and the fans.

“When you put in perspective, it is the second time Baylor has been to the NCAA tournament in 58 years. So it has been a long time coming. Being able to progress this far as we have in such a short time is just a tribute to the players that we brought in, the school administration and the community that has been able to support us over this time.”

And regardless of a first round 90-79 loss to Purdue when the NCAA Tournament tipped off last week, the Baylor Bears still have a lot to be proud of – and they also have a lot to look forward to.

“It wasn’t the performance that we wanted, but at the same time I think this team has accomplished a tremendous amount this year,” Drew said. “It’s something that hopefully they can be proud of the rest of their lives.”

Jerrells led the way for Baylor in their match-up with Purdue, netting 27 points while dishing out eight assists in the Bears first round loss to the Boilermakers.

“In the second half, we thought we were coming back,” Baylor sophomore guard Tweety Carter said. “We had all season long. But we just couldn’t come back [against Purdue].”

Also contributing in the scoring department for BU were freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn with 15 points and junior guard Henry Dugat, who matched his freshman teammate by chipping in with 15 points.

“We gained a lot; we gained hunger,” Jerrells said. “I think the taste in our mouth will be a whole lot better next year. And we’ll actually guard somebody.”

One way or the other, the Bears have a lot to be proud of – as senior guard Aaron Bruce can testify.

“When I first got here, thinking of days like this and thinking about going to the tournament wasn’t even in the picture,” Bruce said. “I think it is just a testament [to this program]; the coaching staff, and the people that they brought in. We’re fighters and we are going to keep fighting.

“You count us out, we are going to show up on a board on the NCAA tournament sooner or later, and that is what we did. It is just a credit to those guys, credit to the staff, and everybody that has something to do with [the Baylor basketball program].”

In addition to leading the team in scoring in a losing effort for Baylor against Purdue, Jerrells also became the first player to score at least 27 points and eight or more assists since Dwyane Wade put up 29 points and dished out 11 assists for Marquette in an Elite Eight battle with Kentucky on March 29, 2003 – a game that Wade and the Golden Eagles won to advance to the Final Four.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

There are only four games on the conference schedule this week, as we look towards the final week of regular season action next week.

While Kansas-Missouri, Texas A&M-Texas, Oklahoma-Oklahoma St., and Nebraska-Colorado will headline next week’s slate, there are a few noteworthy matchups this week.

Oklahoma visits Lubbock on Saturday to take on a Texas Tech team looking to repeat its 2005 feat (but maybe not as controversially). The last time the Sooners and Red Raiders tussled in Lubbock, Texas Tech’s Taurean Henderson scored a touchdown on the final play of the game to hand the Red Raiders a 23-21 win. He may well have been stopped short, but that’s irrelevant now, isn’t it? Tech would love to repeat the feat and put an end to Oklahoma’s national title hopes, but if Oklahoma keeps the ball rolling, it’ll not only help themselves, but it’ll also help Kansas and Missouri’s hopes as well. After getting a $10,000 fine from the Big 12 for his comments about the officials in Tech’s 59-43 loss at Texas last Saturday, will luck be on his side if there’s a crucial call at the end of Saturday’s game.

Speaking of Kansas and Missouri, they have one hurdle left before their big showdown on the 24th. The Jayhawks host Iowa St., and even though the Cyclones are 3-8, there shouldn’t be any underestimating them, because they’ve won their last two games, and played Oklahoma and Missouri tough.

As for Missouri, they go to Kansas St. in a game that could see some big numbers put up all around. Chase Daniel and the Tigers would love to repeat what Nebraska did last week (73 points, 720 yards, 510 passing, 7 TD by Joe Ganz), but the Wildcats will be looking for the big upset to not only end Missouri’s Big 12 and national title hopes and get themselves back on track after that humiliating defeat, but also become bowl-eligible.

In the other game in the conference, Oklahoma St. looks for their sixth win and bowl eligibility when they go to Waco to take on Baylor. It will be the season finale for the Bears and the final game of coach Guy Morriss’ five-year tenure at the school, and if the Bears can send him out on a positive note with a victory, it’ll throw OSU’s bowl hopes into jeopardy, with the Cowboys having to to Norman for their regular season finale.

Before Kansas and Missouri can tangle for the Big 12 North title in two weeks, they each have two more obstacles to climb.

Neither team can underestimate their opponent this weekend, as 9-0 and #4 Kansas has a daunting trip to Stillwater to face an Oklahoma St. team that can score points in a flourish - but has to work on their finishing skills. 8-1 and new #7 Missouri, meanwhile, welcomes Texas A&M to town. It could go two ways for A&M, given the recent development with their coach maybe, possibly, maybe not getting push out of the door - either the Aggies will go out and play fired up, in the hopes that they can somehow save Coach Fran’s job, or they’ll go in with little confidence and get beaten up and down the field.

Oklahoma St. is one of three conference teams looking to become bowl eligible this weekend. Colorado (5-5, 3-3) goes to Iowa St. in search of their sixth win, but as Kansas St. learned last week, the Cyclones aren’t going to give them anything. The Wildcats will take their second crack at getting win #6 when they go to Lincoln to take on the hapless Huskers, who, believe it or not, could still make a bowl, if they win their last two games.

The matchup of the weekend might be Texas-Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon in Austin. Last season, the Red Raiders led 21-0 after a quarter, but Texas battled back for a 35-31 win in Lubbock. Texas Tech will be looking for a little revenge, and they might be able to pull it off, given Graham Harrell’s success against the Longhorns last year (519 yards, three touchdowns) and the fact that Texas’ defense has had its share of issues this season. But, Tech’s going to have to get a lot more than -1 yard rushing, like they did in last year’s heartbreaker.

In the other game on the schedule, Oklahoma hosts Baylor, looking to improve to 9-1 and keep themselves in the national championship hunt.